The Irish standard., 1887-01-08
CATHOLIC NEWS.
The Blessed Night.
BY ELIZA ALLEN STARR.

BY EI1ZA ALLEN SIAhIt.
1t is night. but what a night! The
glittering snow, creaking under the
footsteps, reflects the brilliancy OF
moon and stars until darkness seems to
have been expelled from ealth. The
pines are loaded with snow, held by
their strong, upright needles, while the
hemlock boughs droop under its weight.
The beauty of this winter night
whether in woodland or on pralrle,
mountain or valley, in village or city, is
not 20 be told; and yet it is only re-
fection of the glory of that night winch
saw, for the first time, *'the Word made
Flesh and dwelling among u.s." NO
moon or starry heavens could give an
idea of that light which shone, all at
once. over the Stable of Bethlehem !;
and no waste of untrodden snow could
have given back it's brilliancy like the
face Of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
The brush of the artist seems to fail as
he tries to give Us the luminous atmos-
phere Of the Stable OF Bethlehem, and
the harp feels the hand Of the poet falt-
ering over it's strings as he tunes it IN
praise of "the Babe lying in a manger. =
Even Milton's Hymn on the Nativity
makes us feel that angels alone could
titly sing the joy of that resplendent
night. 1t is only when the ''full-voiced
choirs'' of earth help us to fancy our
selves among celestial songsters, that we
are content.
And yeU-how wonderfully the human
mind adapts itself to its limited musical
scale, to its short list Of tones i'll color
The joy of a ceremony is not according
to it's actual perfection, but according
to the glory or majesty which it sug-
gests to the mind, And thus it is that
while even all religious solemnlt1es
land these are the grandest and the
most perfect, in themselves,) must fall
short of the glory Of . Christmas or
Easter mystery, they still lift the mind
as it could not lift itself, to that plane
of heavenly contemplation, whence the
imagination wings its flight to region
trodden only by angels and by the souls
in blessedness,-that region OF Beatlnc
Vision to which we must aspire during
life, although it is to be reached only
through death.
And still another wonder. This
Church. this Holy Mother, gathering
her children under her mantle, whether
this mantle be one Of riches or of pow
erty and leading them to her affairs,
whether in basilicas glttering with mo-
saics on their gold grounds, or in some
far-off chapel in a grove ON the Western
prairies, or, poorer still, the log-cabin OF
a pioneer,--whether her liturgy is
intoned by some catlledral-yoiced prel-
ate and responded to by the world re-
nowned choirs, or simply read in the
Low Mass by some missionary priest
with a single acolyte, still dispenses
all the graces Of d Christmas night, still
bears in her hands "the Word maoe
Flesh.' and lifts him up as sacrifice
for the sins of the world, No straitness
of circumstance CAN curtail her bena-
factions. and there is no richer gilt Tor
cardinal, prince, or Pope himself than
she dispenses at the hand OF the hum
blest of his penitent flock.
y blessed lltar-rail OF the poorest OF
sanctuaries! thou art that bethlehem
which is truly the "Iouse Of Bread, +" at
which those who eat shall be fed with
the Food of Angels !---may we not say,
rather, Food surprising that OF angels ?
For what angel has ever partaken OF
that Eucllaristic Bread, in which Christ
is truly present
Well, then, may We say to the Chris
tian people, to the trne children OF the
Catholic Churcn, our Holy Mother:
Lift up YOU eyes and behold |! lift up
your hearts and adore '"The heavens
have indeed dropped down their dew,
and the skies have poured down the
Righteous One. The earth has opened
and brought forth the Saviour. The
waste places have been sweet buds, and
out of ZION the perfection OF beauty.
our God has come manifestly. This
day is the true peace come down unto
us from heaven. This day, throughout
khe whole world, the skies drop down
sweetness. This day is the daybreak Of
our new redemption, OF the restoring OF
the old, the everlasting JOY ~
There can be no shadow on this
Christmas Joy for it comes not from
the earth, but from heaven, No pros
perity can increase, no poverty or sor-
row or bereavement can diminish it.
Sin, and sin alone, can dim, can even
blight and utterly destroy it. Let us,
then, put away all circumstances from
our Ideal of Christmas. Let it be to us,
as it really is Or it is nothing, "The
Child born to us, the Emanuel with
us!'-Ave Maria, Dec. Is.
Catholic Notes.
The number of children attending